Fact finding in a Welsh Rural Community

Abstract

The contents of the following paper are based on a study of local culture and oral tradition undertaken in the Tre-lech area of west Carmarthenshire. It was decided that the years 1890–1895 should be the starting point of the investigation with reference in particular to the recording of oral testimonies, the average age of informants being seventy-eight. Naturally one had to depend a great deal on written sources available for the latter years of the nineteenth century. This was essential in order to arrange and classify evidence from documented sources to illustrate the social, economic and historical background of the area. The work was subdivided into three main categories, namely the economic and historical background; the cultural and social background and the literary traditions. The cultural activity was interpreted in two stages, the first being the formal and functional efforts of the community to educate and entertain. Secondly, the informal habits and customs which were developed, accepted and preserved by the community.